American Idol alum Caleb Flynn told his daughters that he might die if they didn’t lie to police about his wife’s murder, according to prosecutors.
Shortly before Flynn, 40, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Monday, October 5, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum that he had instructed his two daughters — who were 9 and 11 at the time of the murder in February — to lie to investigators after he fatally shot their mother, Ashley Flynn.
Both girls told investigators that Caleb had told them that “their statements could be the difference between life and death for him,” according to a copy of the memo obtained by People.
He also instructed them to “deny that he had coached them and conceal the conversations from others.”
“Thus, after taking their mother from them, [Caleb] attempted to use his grieving daughters to reinforce the story he had created to protect himself,” prosecutors added in the memo.
Despite their father’s request, the girls ultimately told the truth to authorities, and Caleb was convicted of killing Ashley, 37.
Caleb was sentenced after a jury found him guilty on September 29 of murdering Ashley. Throughout the trial, it was revealed that he was having an affair with a woman who worked as an intern at the church where he was a pastor.
Both of the girls testified during the trial. They did not attend his sentencing hearing, but family members read their victim impact statements on their behalf.
His youngest daughter wrote that her mother had a “voice of an angel,” and Caleb began to cry uncontrollably as the uncle read the statement, according to the outlet.
“She was my best friend. And then you chose to kill the only mother I ever had,” the victim impact statement said, which was read by her uncle.
The youngest daughter also asked Caleb, “What did she ever do to make you hate her so much?”
“Did you ever think about how much pain you would bring your own two daughters?” Caleb and Ashley’s eldest daughter asked in her victim impact statement, which was read during the sentencing hearing by her maternal grandmother.
The statement continued, “By the way, Ashley Flynn was the best thing that ever happened to you. You decided to throw it away for a girl who was half your age.”
“I love you deeply with all my heart, and it’s sad that you can’t love anyone but yourself,” she continued.
The eldest daughter ended her statement with a brutal message. “And by the way, I don’t plan on coming to see you,” she said.
Caleb appeared on season 12 of American Idol in 2013. He made it through several rounds of the competition show, but was eliminated before the live rounds began.
